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Date: | Tue, 24 Jan 1995 09:39:02 EST |
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Wow, David, that was a pretty bluff posting. I don't have a
quote function on my email, but I think that you are rushing
to some conclusions that don't need to be made.
I'm sure that *many* people in America were pleased and
excited that the war was over. There were also probably alot
of people who reacted with the "Hooray, we blasted them"
comment that you (I assume with a little of your tongue in
your cheek) suggested. I'm sure hundreds of thousands of
Americans also were overwhelmingly relieved that they
wouldn't have to die in the Asian theatre.
Putting aside what the Japanese might have thought of this
for a moment, there were also many thoughtful people in
America who questioned the wisdom of the decision to bomb
Nagasaki and Hiroshima, among these doubters were people who
contributed to the creation of the bomb. These weren't
necessarily academics or people whose lives weren't on the
line, though, again, I'm sure that you are right in saying
that most servicemen were glad that these bombs made it
unnecessary for them to risk death.
The point isn't that the veterans are right, or those who
question the bombing are right. The point is how does one
balance competing points of view in an "official" exhibit. I
sure wouldn't want the job of convincing anyone that their
deeply held point of view is wrong. What I hope museums can
do is to place those deeply held views in the context of a
range of views, so that an informed debate can happen
individually and across groups.
I don't know enough about the texture and history of this
question; I have found, in general, that the rationale
behind demonized points of view and demonized groups become
much more complex and humanly comprehensible when they are
understood more fully. Therefore, I think that it is
worthwhile understanding the Japanese militarist point of
view, as well as the degree to which the Japanese in the
street suffered from the War.
Eric Siegel
[log in to unmask]
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